Amidst a classic English rugby's most storied contests, the match involving Leicester versus Bath proved to be as much about the emotional tribute at the interval as the rugby on play.
The legendary Martin Johnson led a phalanx comprising Tigers former players in honour of the great Lewis Moody, who has announced his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.
The last time Moody last pulled on a Leicester shirt at Welford Road, a decade and a half past, prior to joining their rivals Bath for the last two years in a distinguished playing career, Leicester were more or less close to their very best, whereas Bath found themselves enduring a long drought without the title. Times have changed since. Bath arrived as champions, marking the first occasion they have called themselves that since the 1990s.
A Truly Emotional Welcome at Welford Road
Leicester, on a wave of emotion, offered them an old-fashioned welcome, relishing their status as the unfancied team on their own pitch, the 18,000 Midlanders further emboldened by Moody’s confession during the break that regardless of his residence, Welford Road will always be his rugby home.
In retrospect, Bath did not stand a chance. True to form, during a final, desperate attack deep in Bath territory, the Tigers managed to coax a crucial penalty from the tiring Bath defenders.
The Decisive Moment
Billy Searle, who replaced the impressive James O’Connor, the experienced Wallaby making his debut start for the club, took a quick tap, before Thomas du Toit made a high tackle, for which offence he saw yellow. From the final play, Searle slotted the penalty kick from a difficult angle to steal the win.
It felt like being back in the days of Moody’s pomp. Without a doubt, the home team, who moved up the table in the mid-table bun fight, can take great encouragement that a familiar frontal assault can still yield results, regardless of the quality they face.
Contrasting Game Plans
Bath were sublime when in possession. So Leicester, after a bewildering first half-hour which saw them trail 17-7, learned to deprive them of any. A deluge of penalties conceded by the away side kept Bath on the back foot, their pack thoroughly outplayed at the set piece throughout the game.
The Tigers' three touchdowns were remarkably similar, neither scored from more than a yard; Bath's three tries were studies in poetry. Frost, Underhill, and Redpath were the finishers, before and after Cracknell's score for Tigers. Then, on the back of those penalties, Reffell and Smith forced their way over for tries either side of half-time.
The Nail-Biting Conclusion
Those scores gave Leicester a narrow advantage, an advantage they maintained for most of the second half. It appeared inevitable before Bath secured sufficient possession to score their fourth. In fact, their breakthrough arrived via an infrequent penalty at the scrum, with their South African reinforcements now on the field. Finn Russell, having missed two of his three earlier attempts, landed the kick with a little less than 10 minutes to play.
This merely galvanized Leicester for one last, brutish assault, initiated by the lively Ollie Hassell-Collins down the left. After earning the penalty that earned Bath the lead in a situation he relishes, the unfortunate prop gave away a penalty in a vulnerable position. The outcome was then a foregone conclusion.
